News

2013-09-10 10:58:26.317

Clinton Man Picks Up Lottery Win

When Billy Hart pulled into the convenience store the morning of Aug. 21, he had no idea his fortunes were about to change. The day started like any other as he followed his normal routine on his way to help with his son’s lawn care business. Hart stopped to fuel up his 1998 Dodge pickup truck and buy a Scratchers ticket. Before he left the store, he was $100,000 richer.

Hart, a semi-retired Clinton resident, decided to scratch his ticket in the parking lot of MFA Break Time, 922 N. Second St. in Clinton, where he purchased his ticket. A jolt of disbelief overcame him as he scratched the latex from the Missouri Lottery ticket.

“I saw the first matching number, so I just kept scratching. Then my heart skipped a few beats,” Hart confided. “I just didn’t believe what I was looking at.”

Hart, 72, went back inside the store to have the clerk verify the ticket.

“Don’t lie to me,” he told the clerk when they discovered the ticket was worth $100,000.

The great-grandfather of 12 took his “Millionaire” Scratchers ticket to the Missouri Lottery office in Kansas City on Sept. 3 to claim his prize. Hart says he plans on paying off some debts with his windfall. There is one other purchase he is contemplating.

“My ’98 Dodge truck has 350,000 miles on it. It might be time to get a new one; maybe a Ford, or it might be another Dodge,” Hart snickered.

The "Millionaire" Scratchers ticket offers more than 100 prizes ranging from $10,000 to the $1 million top prize. The $10 game also offers the chance to win up to 20 times on a single ticket.